After a sporty a car around £2k... what not to get? What to get :D

Yes you're right, there is only one Cupra R at £2300 & it looks a bit ragged.
There are lots of nice 180 examples on an 02 plate. Actually Im pleasantly surprised at how many look in mint condition for the year & am wondering where they start to rust first.
Looking for one in original & tidy condition with history should not be too difficult I think :)
Will start to get serious about looking in a couple of weeks, getting excited lol.
 
rodenal said:
I believe they do have the same issues unfortunately (happy to be proved wrong though) - its essentially the same block iirc and its oval bore that's the problem
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As always, i believe its all down to if you end up lucky and get a good one or not. I had a 2002 celica 190 for 4 years and nothing went wrong with it apart from a radiator leak. Didn't use a drop of oil.
 
SEAT Leon Cupra is the winner!

Cant believe myself or anyone else didnt notice I spelt SEAT wrong above in the winner bit before, ha.

Ok, ive been scouring Cupra's up2 60miles from st3 & this is what has caught my eye so far:

I like the black & this 03 plate looks in real good condition, although no engine-bay pic so dont know if its been tarted up with car magazine addons. Limited service history though.
Cupra 180

This Y plate R looks too good to be true at £1750 as its ironically its the only one I can find with a full service history. Looks tempting but something tells me to stay clear + its older & has black pre face-lift dials.
Cupra R
 
The cupra is worth looking at - try and get it down closer to £2k if you like it, you're paying a fair premium just for buying from a dealer with that one.

How many times - you cannot afford a good Cupra R ( I don't think that is one btw)! Also why do you keep writing xxxx is the winner?
 
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I know I know. I should be satisfied with a 180. Maybe next year i'll save some more & get an R if I like the Leon.
I put xxxx is the winner for the benefit of someone looking at this thread for the first time & seeing post 1 rabbit on about a ST170.
 
After scouring Autotrader for a week ive just discovered the mk1 Cupra (00-05) had a facelift in 02, which gave bigger wheels (ditching the multi spokes that are hard to clean), bigger bumper & white dials as far as I can tell.
The facelift makes it look a lot better & more modern I think & not really more expensive.

Pre facelift
premv.jpg


Post facelift
postnmv.jpg
 
I'd still rather take a CTR over an old Cupra R. Gearstick is a lot better, the normal position in other cars will soon begin to feel 'wrong'.
 
Just noticed that all for sale are with a garage or dealer & most dont have any tax.
I presume then I'll probably need to add a further £148 for at least 6months tax? That sux, why cant they have 1 or 2months left.

Hmm question: Its very likely i'll have to buy a car from a garage 50 miles away with no tax, do I need get it taxed before I can drive it home or will the garage tax it & add the cost of the tax. Is it the same with a dealer?
Obviously ill swap over my insurance at the time of purchase to drive it home.
Its just ive always bought cars from private sellers that are already taxed, but all these darn Cupra's are being sold by traders & im not getting a modded overpriced car from a private seller at pistonheads.

ta
 
Wow, using the DVLA site you can check if the car is taxed with just the registration, or worse if ifs not been SORN'd.
I'm sifting through Google & its still a bit muddled on whether I can drive it straight home with no tax disc then wait until the Insurance cert comes through the post, or if you have to book into a garage near home.
How interesting all this is.
 
Ran a 1.8T FR (facelift as above, but with later 17" seat alloys) for a year n a half. Enjoyed it, did everything I asked of it decently. No issues apart from water ingress through door seals, happens quite often.
 
I heard about the door seals Witor, also coil packs & glove door not staying shut lol. Minor things, phew & better than burning oil or something because there are not enough holes drilled in the pistons.
What the heck is an FR, oh dear theres even a FR+.
Anyway I presume the FR is the Facelift Revision? With bigger bumpers/alloys which is what im deffo looking for.
Ahh the FR has titanium door mirrors, so thats why I saw a black Cupra with silver door mirrors.
 
FR is just the name of the trim level. They sit between the standard models and the Cupras IIRC.
 
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I'm sure the garage will happily tax it for you if you ask them but if you haven't got any money off the price they have it for sale for I'd be asking for it to be taxed by them without cost to you.
 
MissChief said:
I'm sure the garage will happily tax it for you if you ask them but if you haven't got any money off the price they have it for sale for I'd be asking for it to be taxed by them without cost to you.
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Yeah that sounds a good idea and if they wont tax it then walk away as there are plenty of cupras in the sea.
I hope to be able knock a bit off the asking price but im not very good at these things.
 
May be able get £2800 soon so approaching Cupra R territory.
If this Cupra R is still for sale I may go look at it unless you guys can see anything wrong?
Are them the standard wheels?
 
No mention of history or number of owners - which usually means none and lots. You want to see when the belt and waterpump was last changed and it would be nice to see how many maf / coil pack replacements it's had in the last few years too.

Of course service history can literally mean just a stamped book which isn't too much use but i'd be looking for one with a fully stamped book (wouldn't care if it was seat or not), bunch of receipts, had the oil dropped on a regular basis, a years ticket and not many owners.

*Edit just had a look and I can't see any at the moment within about 100 miles of you advertised for under circa £4k that I'd bother with personally - I wouldn't discount those cars though as the asking may well come down closer to 3 over the next few weeks*
 
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rodenal said:
No mention of history or number of owners - which usually means none and lots. You want to see when the belt and waterpump was last changed and it would be nice to see how many maf / coil pack replacements it's had in the last few years too.

Of course service history can literally mean just a stamped book which isn't too much use but i'd be looking for one with a fully stamped book (wouldn't care if it was seat or not), bunch of receipts, had the oil dropped on a regular basis, a years ticket and not many owners.
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^^^ This.

I recently bought a Seat Toledo in the end btw, not sure if you read my other topic. I have a leaky drivers side door seal which is a non issue, I'm sorting that next week. It happens to a lot of cupra's of that age.

Even by looking at what tyres are fitted will give you an indication of previous history. Are they a decent brand, same tyres all round or at least on the same axle?

Check previous MOT history online as well (you will need the V5 ref for this) has it failed for silly things such as bald tyres, brakes worn out etc? Stuff which would normally be spotted and fixed by any reasonable owner before an MOT.
 
Useful stuff there, yeah a service history seams to be rare & add that to the fact that they're a rare car anyway makes it quite tough to find a gud-un. I've seen some pre facelift normals with good history but the post facelift look so much better & the R even more desirable.
I think im really pushing it for £2800 to find an R which is ok. Although luck plays a part even with a full history. Its a pity I dont have a mate to come along who knows what to listen for engine wise. I'm compiling a list of points to check over atm though.

Same brand tyres all round, christ I even put the same branded tyres all round on my shedmobile Mondeo. Guess it would highlight poor ownership though.
Also if from a private seller then ask them where the dip-stick is cus you want to check the oil & if they dont know then walk away. Plus ask to be taken for a ride & if they thrash it from cold then walk away. Stuff like that.

Cambelt seems to be a thorny issue as the book says 60k/4yrs but garages say 80k. Guess I have to see a receipt for a belt when looking at a car & if they dont have a receipt then knock however much it costs to replace a cambelt off the price?
 
I simply wouldn't buy one that's overdue the belt.

The kind of people who own something like a cupra R should know far better than to let the belt go overdue and or not change the waterpump at the same time. For that reason you shouldn't even need to ask them where the dipstick is - you'd have walked away long before opening the bonnet.

I'd say 4 years / 60k - better safe than sorry especially since the difference is only a year

I agree you'll struggle to find something within that budget - you're going to have to drop the pre/post facelift thing for a start, expect poor wheels and potentially a few marks bodywork wise too. There is no excuse for not maintaining a car like this mechanically though. It's an 8-10 year old 1.8t chucking out 200bhp+ it needs looking after.
 
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